


Light That Shines

by geckoholic



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Families of Choice, Female Friendship, Gen, Mentors, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:15:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25532719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geckoholic/pseuds/geckoholic
Summary: She aced all the test exams. But right when it mattered, she couldn't seem to apply all that she learned to the simulation assigned to her in the exam.
Relationships: Mako Mori & Tamsin Sevier
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5
Collections: Every Woman 2020





	Light That Shines

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tielan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tielan/gifts).



> Just a small moment between them, I hope it's what you wanted. <3
> 
> Beta-read by scribblemyname. Thank you for that as well! ♥ All remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> Title is from "Whispers" by Passenger.

Mako isn't used to failure. She by no means considers herself perfect, but what she might, here and there, lack for in talent or knowledge, she makes up for in dedication. Her life has a purpose, has had it ever since she found herself running through the streets of a city, newly orphaned, running from an enemy so much larger and mightier than her – a bug trying not be squashed underfoot in an attempt to hid from a giant. She felt helpless then. She never wants to feel helpless again.

And yet here she is, curled up on her bed, the pillow smushed over her head with so much force that it makes breathing difficult. She should not have failed this simulator exam. She knew all the answers. She studied for weeks. She aced all the test exams. But right when it mattered, she couldn't seem to apply all that she learned to the simulation assigned to her in the exam.

She hears the door open, a familiar squeak that gave her enough time, many a night, to kill the flashlight underneath her covers and put the book away just in time that she managed to feign sleep as her adoptive father checked up on her. Stacker Pentecost is a firm and demanding boss, but he's a lenient parent, and it was enough that they could both pretend she did not disobey, did not study past her bedtime.

But it's not Stacker Pentecost who pushes the door open this time. The voice that says her name belongs to Tamsin Siever. She doesn't ask to be allowed in; she doesn't ask if she's allowed to step closer. The bed dips with her weight, and she lightly touches Mako's shoulder.

“Quit pouting, kid,” she says, her voice too fond and too gentle for that to be the reprimand the words imply. “Learn from it.”

Mako rears around at the accusation that she's pouting, and the knowing smile on Tamsin's face tells her that was the intended effect. Realizing she's been played, Mako sits up, now clutching the pillow that she previously used to block out the rest of the world. “I don't understand why I failed. I knew more about the classification of the Kaiju and about the abilities of the Jaegers than anyone else in my class. The exam – ”

“The exam,” Tamsin interrupts her, “wasn't about what you know.”

Mako frowns. Now that doesn't make sense. What else are exams about, then?

“There are no rules in a real fight,” Tamsin says. “You can know everything about Kaiju and Jaegers that anyone ever found out, and yet it might still surprise you. Something new might happen, something unexpected. That's what this exam was about.”

Her wounded pride still makes her want to rebel against Tamsin's words, but Mako gets that this is a different kind of lesson, more valuable than stats and battle analysis, and so she keeps herself very still, her eyes wide as she waits for Tamsin to continue.

“We can't prepare you for every possibility.” Tamsin brushes Mako's hair behind her ears, reminiscent of the touch of a mother, and gives her another gentle smile. “But we can try and prepare you for the unexpected, the unknowable.”

Mako narrows her eyes, thinking, and as she runs over the words again in her head something clicks into place. “Did any of the others pass the exam? Or did we all fail?”

Tamsin puts a finger to her lips, but behind the gesture her smile turns conspiratorial. “Mako,” she admonishes. “You know neither Stacker nor I are authorized to share the exam scores of your fellow cadets with you.”

“But?” Mako pushes, because she knows she can, she knows there's more. She knows Tamsin expects her to push just a little bit more – wants her to understand.

Tamsin grins. “But the lesson you were all supposed to learn through this exam wasn't about winning, or about applying theoretical knowledge the right way.” Her eyes roam over the shelves full of books about known Kaiju and past battles. Then she takes Mako's hand and their joined hands to touch Mako's forehead. “Because real battles aren't only won using this.” She lowers their hands and touches a certain spot about a hand's with below Mako's collarbone. “They're also won using this. And sometimes, the only way to teach someone to also rely on their instincts is to have them fail in only relying on their knowledge.”

“Yes,” Mako says, nodding. “I think I get it now.”

Tamsin puts their hands down in her lap and squeezes Mako's, winking at her. “Good. But don't tell Stacker I came to talk to you about this. He's prepared a long-winded speech for all of you come Monday.”

“Of course not,” Mako confirms with a solemn nod. “I'll even keep pouting all throughout the weekend if that's what it takes to keep the secret.”

“Good girl,” Tamsin says, amusement in her voice, and this time Mako smiles back, her heart lighter and her mind at ease.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [dreamwidth](https://geckoholic.dreamwidth.org/), [tumblr](http://lostemotion.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/spacenerdz).


End file.
